


Tangled (with a twist)

by SamxXxBluePulser



Category: Homestuck
Genre: BroJohn - Freeform, Equius is a horse, Fluff and Angst, M/M, royal au, tangled-heir, tangledstuck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-04
Updated: 2014-02-24
Packaged: 2018-01-11 05:07:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1169037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamxXxBluePulser/pseuds/SamxXxBluePulser
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John is the adorable kid locked up in the hidden tower, desperate to get out.<br/>Bro is the thief who stumbles upon the tower and takes a liking to the boy.<br/>The two make a pact to help each other out, but nothing goes as planned.</p><p>Bascially a BroJohn version of Tangled.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First time posting on this site, I hope I'm doing this right...  
> Also, this idea was not mine, it was one of my friend's.

Your name is Broderick Strider and this is your story.  
Actually, everyone just calls you Bro, and this isn’t your story; it’s the story of a cute little kid called John. But let’s not get into that just yet. First, you need to tell a little bit about yourself.  
You are a thief. You steal for a living. Of course, everyone good criminal needs a partner—or two. You, your brother Dave, and your best friend Jake have pulled off so many heists that you’ve nearly lost track. The three of you have stolen jewelry, famous art pieces, and several very valuable coins.  
The last one sounded rather lame. But your share was over $400,00, so you don’t mind it sounding lame.  
Currently, you, Dave, and Jake are on your way to steal the biggest thing yet—the crown of the missing prince from the kingdom of Corona. Funny how ‘Corona’ means crown in Spanish. You’re just full of fun facts, huh?  
Anyway, back to the heist.  
The three of you run along the roof of the kingdom until you reach the place where the crown is being guarded. Dave pops open the window deftly, and you look down at the crown far, far below. You can see a bunch of guards surrounding the priceless object, and smirk a little. This will be too easy.  
Dave ties the rope to your left ankle quickly, tightly. You flash Jake a small smirk, and he grins back. You see his hand go to the inside of his jacket, and he pulls out two pistols.  
“I’ll keep guard, don’t worry!” His grin widens when you nod.   
You turn to Dave, who has fastened the rope to the edge of the watchtower a few feet away.   
“Be ready to run.” You say, before turning and diving down the open space. You dangle about three or four inches above the crown. The crown itself is silver in color, and rather light, you notice as you carefully pick it up. It has several gems of a pretty blue color set in the front.   
You can’t help but cough softly, and the noise has the nearest guard turning around with wide eyes. You lower your shades to reveal your bright orange eyes, and wink.  
“Intruders! Alert the king, the crown has been stolen!” He yells, and you give the rope a sharp tug. Within a second, you shoot upwards, banging your head on the edge of the hole as Jake hoists you up cheerfully.  
You shoot your brother a glare, as he is the reason you hit your head, and put the crown in the bag in front of you. You sling the bag across your shoulder, turning when you hear shouts.  
The three of you start running upon seeing a bunch of armed guards chasing after them. You’re in the lead, mostly because you’re the eldest and most experienced at this sort of thing. You hear Jake fire a few shots, and soon the guards are no longer after you. They’ve stopped to help one of their fallen.  
The three of you quickly climb down the ladder and run into the forest. You can here angry horse noises, and grimace.  
“It’s Equius again. Run!” You hiss, and take off at an even faster speed. Your breath comes in short pants as you leap over fallen trees and streams, dodging rocks and flying arrows coming from behind you. You can hear Dave and Jake behind you.  
Finally, you reach an edge, where the next possible escape is several feet ahead of you. You study the high cliff for a second then turn to Jake, as he’s stronger than Dave.  
“Give me a boost,” you tell him, and the muscular brunette pushes you up. You reach down to help them, but the guards from the palace have already caught up. You still have the crown, and your eyes widen behind pointy shades.  
“Just go!” Dave yells as he unsheathes his sword from his side. You watch Jake take out his pistols, and nod.  
“I’ll meet you at Lil Cal.” You crack a rare smile as the corners of Dave’s mouth turn upward. Lil Cal was the meeting spot for you three. It was a big oak tree with winding, almost arm-like branches.  
Then you turn and run, in between two trees, jumping to dodge an arrow. Soon you’re out of sight, and you can no longer see your two partners. You can hear that damn horse though, and so you run as fast and as silently as you can along the edge of a limestone cliff, running your hand along the wall.  
You’re sure Equius is about to catch up with you when your hand gives away and you fall past the leafy green hanging into a space. You blink and get to your feet, slowly walking around the edge of the boulder.  
And damn. There’s a tower. Could it get any more cliché? You hurry towards it, take out your katana, and use it to help you climb the tower. As you get to the window, you silently open it, and hop inside, sheathing your weapon.  
Suddenly you hear a soft squeal, and before you can turn to the side, you feel a heavy pain in the side of your head.  
Your name is Bro Strider and you’ve just been knocked unconscious with a hammer.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John and Bro make an agreement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hnnn I can't write Bro properly lolol
> 
> Jane's the evil mom bc I don't like her oops sorry bye

Your name is John Egbert and you’ve just knocked the katana-wielding stranger who came in through your window unconscious.

You freeze as he falls to the ground, head hitting the wood with a loud thump. You swear silently as you put away the now dented hammer—geez, how hard was the stranger’s head anyways?—back under the sink of your mini kitchen. You turn back to the blonde lying on the ground, swallowing nervously. Thankfully, Jane isn’t back from town yet.

You push the guy onto his back, noting that he looks a few years older than you, probably 21. You are 18 as of today. You wonder why the stranger has those ridiculously pointy shades, and can’t help but snicker a bit. They look as if they belong in some gay anime.

You reach into the bag by the guy’s side and your hand touches something cold and smooth. You pull out a dazzling silver crown, with little blue stones set in the front of it. You can tell the crown doesn’t belong to the stranger right off the bat, so you quickly run to the staircase, your long hair trailing behind you, and carefully slide it into a secret hiding place. You go back to the guy and stare down at him.

You pick up the katana and swing it around, giggling a bit at how it slices through the air with ease. You do prefer your hammer though.

Suddenly, you’re pinned to the wall, the guy’s hand wrapped around the wrist of the katana holding arm. You emit a soft whimper, terrified. You haven’t had human contact, other than Jane, for ages, and this isn’t exactly what you had been hoping for. Especially not by some older man. Now you make him sound like a pedophile. Which he may be.

“Now, now, little girl. You shouldn’t be playing with dangerous weapons.” The man drawls, his voice deep and smooth. You feel a flicker of annoyance at his words, and slip out from his grasp. You trip on your hair though, and fall. You scramble backwards, starting up into the man’s shades, your fingers wrapping around the hilt of the weapon next to you.

“I’m not little or a girl.” You toss your knee length hair behind your shoulders, lips set in an angry pout. You can barely see the outline of his eyes from behind those shades.

“That’s even better.” He smirks, not showing a hint of surprise, and you jump to your feet.

“Ew, you old creep!” You yell, nervously running your hands through your hair quickly, combing it as you always do. He looks offended. Oops.

“I’m not an old creep, kid. Well, maybe. You’re what, 16?” He says.

“I’m 18.” You huff, pouting again. For some reason you aren’t freaking out yet.

“Can I at least have your name?” He steps forward, and you realize he’s cautious because you still have the katana in your hand. You wonder why you aren’t freaking out.

“Tell me yours first. You did break into this tower.” You shoot back.

“The name’s Bro.” He drawls after a pause.

“What kind of name is that?” You offer back, eyeing him cautiously still. But you tell him your name anyways. He nods, reaching out for the katana. You don’t give it back; instead, you back up even more.

“Why did you come into my tower?” You ask. “I came to hide from—shit.” He turns quickly for his bag, and you can’t help but grin a little.

“Lemme guess, you stole some crown and you were going to hide here so no one would find you.” You snort and roll your eyes at his plan.

“Of course not, that wouldn’t be ironic at all. I was running from that fucking horse.” He searches frantically through the bag, coming up with nothing. You watch him with a grin, until he turns around, and somehow you know he’s glaring at you from underneath his stupid pointy shades.

“Where is it?” He asks. You’re too deep in thought to answer him, trying to formulate a plan.

“Where is it?” He asks again, his tone deadly. You blink and frown.

“Ask nicely first!” You respond cheekily, giving a smile.

“Please, give it to me before I run my sword through your pretty little face.” He puffs out, and you purse your lips.

“You can have it on one condition…”

“What?” His mouth is set in a thin line and you try not to giggle because that’d probably get you hanging from the rafters by your hair or something.

“Before I give you the crown, you have to take me to the Kingdom of Corona.” You say.

“No way. You’re just a little kid—“

“I’m 18!”

“—plus I have better things to be doing rather than babysitting a whiny ass cross-dresser.”

“I’m not whiny and how am I a cross-dresser?” You look down at your clothes. Sure, the blue shorts do look like a skirt, and your top is rather frilly, but that isn’t your fault. You level a fierce glare at Bro, who grins slightly.

“Man, you’re like a fluffy, angry cat, Egbert.” He snickers and pats your hair.

“What’s with the do anyway?” He raises an eyebrow, motioning to your long locks, but you quickly stop his curiosity.

“None of your business! Now, do you want the crown or not?” You put a hand on your hip and glare. He puts his hands up in surrender, and you just know that he’s rolling his eyes.

“Fine, fine. I’ll take you to Corona for whatever reason. As soon as I drop you off I need the crown. Got it?” Bro’s voice is hard.

“Got it!” You beam happily, taking no notice of how he rubs his temples and mumbles something about overly cheery kids.

You make him turn away as you grab the crown from your hiding spot and put it in the bag. You’re about to sling it over one shoulder when you hear Jane, aka your mom.

“John? John, I can’t stand out here forever dear! Time is age!”

Bro tenses up and so do you. You point towards the closet and as soon as he is in, put a chair to the handle so he can’t get out. You shove the bag with the crown back in your hiding place and kick the katana underneath the table where it isn’t visible.

Then you go to the window and open it up fully. You wonder where Casey has gone, but ignore than fact as you throw down a rope for Jane to get up by.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Bro is an asshole and John is scared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really cannot write Bro oh my gog

You stand in the closet, holding your breath. John and his mom are having a talk about a trip she’s going on for a few days, apparently.

“John, sweetie, are you sure you’ll be fine here alone?”

“Of course, Mom! Don’t worry about me.”

“Alright. I’ll see you in three days time.”

You hear footsteps and a light thump. You stay silent and hidden though, waiting until John opens the closet door. Several minutes pass without a sound, however, and he never comes for you. After a pause, you try to push open the door, only to find that something heavy is blocking it. You heave a sigh.

“Egbert!” You hiss, taking a risk that his parent figure is long gone. After a few seconds, he opens up the door. You’ve been leaning on it so you fall out onto the floor. Your shades almost come off but you grab them before they do, adjusting them. You get to your feet and glower silently at the boy.

He giggles, and you notice his freakishly long hair has been pinned up into a flat coil thing on the top of his head, making him look almost normal. You reach over and unpin it, and the whole coil falls apart. You can see his startled blue eyes fill up with tears.

Shit. Now you feel like an asshole.

“Hey, uh, don’t cry kid. I didn’t mean to—“

“Do you know how long that took me to make?” John’s voice is soft and sad and you nearly crack a grin.

“Like, five minutes, kid.” You answer. He huffs angrily and stomps over to the mirror, where a brush is sitting on a small table. He starts to angrily comb his hair, locks falling out as he does so. You shoot him an innocent look as he starts pinning up his hair once more, muttering under his breath about idiots in shades. You snicker softly.

“So, are we going to go now?” He asks, and you sigh. You don’t like this deal at all; you don’t want to have to deal with an annoying little brat for days. But he has the crown, so you have to earn his trust by taking him to the damn kingdom—where you’re wanted.

It’s complicated. But you’re a pretty smart guy, so you think this will be a snap.

You have never been more wrong in your life.

~x~

“Egbert, if you don’t stop with this bipolar bullshit I swear to god—“

“I can’t help it! I want to go but that’ll make me a terrible son!” John wails loudly, and you feel yet another headache coming on.

“Look. How about I take you to this nice little place to see if you can handle being far away or not from your beloved tower. Then we can go from there, ok?” You stare at the boy, whose blue eyes refocus. He nods.

The two of you start to walk, you leading. You head for the pub that you commonly go to, the Fluffy Puppy. Hopefully the boy can take it.

As you walk up to the entrance, Roxy throws open the door and smiles at you, a bottle of beer in one hand. She throws an arm around you, the beer sloshing out of the bottle.

John shyly retreats behind you, gripping the back of your shirt. You try to shake him off while at the same time try to avoid Roxy’s kisses. It’s not that you don’t like her as a friend. You’re gay, so this is just awkward.

“Dirkyyyyy!” Is all she gets out before you accidentally trip her and she falls. You quickly pull John inside, and as soon as you enter, he clings to you. As you look down at him, you can see his eyes are wide with fear. You sigh and peel him away from you.

“Kid. It’s fine. Ain’t nobody gonna hurt you when I’m around, ok?” You stare into his eyes, which are actually quite nice.

“Ok.” He says softly after a pause. You made a quick decision and take his hand. He looks surprised then squeezes your hand and holds onto it. You almost, almost smile.

As the two of you get seats, there’s a commotion by the door. You glance over and nearly choke. Jake and Dave are standing there looking very beat up. Your brother has a black eye and a split lip, and your ex boyfriend/ best friend’s cheek is bruised and his glasses are cracked.

Behind them are three guards, all armed. Your jump to your feet and start to slink out the back, forgetting about John in that split second to get away. You can’t go back to jail. Never, ever. You promised yourself that ages ago.

“B-Bro?” John looks around, and when he doesn’t see you, his lip starts to tremble. You swear. Either you can grab John and run, risking getting caught, or you can escape and leave him here.

You pause, trying to decide.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chase.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long >-

Your name is John Egbert, and you are freaking out.

Bro has left you, disappeared somewhere in the bar, and there are a few smirking guys eyeing you. You squeak as one approaches you, his hand going down to rub you through the fabric. Your eyes water as you freeze up. No one notices as he grabs you, tucking you under his shoulder, and goes to the back room. Your mouth is muffled so as you try and scream, no one can hear you.

He tosses you onto the floor, closing the door halfway. You start to cry as he pins you down, starting to rip off your shirt.

“BRO!” You scream as loud as you can, your voice cracking as you squirm underneath the man. He slaps you, and you let out a sob. His breath reeks of alcohol and as the tears pour down your face, you conclude Bro isn’t coming for you. He’s left you.

At that moment, the door opens and the guy is ripped off of you. You wipe your eyes as you slowly sit up to see Bro practically beating the living shit out of the guy.

“Don’t—ever—touch—him—again—“ he accents each word with a punch or kick. Once the guy is unconscious, he’s by your side, scooping you up in his arms.

“We gotta go, Egbert.” His voice is tense, and through your tears you notice his shades are cracked. You cling to him as he runs out, shoving past people to get behind the bar. You hear yells and nearly scream when a sword goes whizzing past your head, grazing some of your hair and cutting it off. You scream as you feel more swords flying past your head.

Bro ducks underneath the fireplace and pushes you down a chute. You whimper as you fall onto your head and tumble forward. In an instant, he has you in his arms and you grip onto his strong forearms as he hurries along what seems to be an underground tunnel. Your head is spinning from where the drunk guy threw you onto the floor and your cheek is bruised. You stay quiet as he runs along the path for a while, before stopping and setting you down gently.

“Are you hurt?” He asks, and you hiccup, whimpering. He repeats the question and you shake your head.

“Hey, hey, it’s ok.” He cups your cheek with one hand wiping away your tears with his thumb. You sniffle and more tears leak from your eyes.

“Shh, John, I’m sorry I let him touch you. You’re ok though, right?” His shades slip down to reveal bright amber eyes. You nod and bury your face in his chest, clutching onto him. He sighs and scoops you up again.

You look up at him, and he looks like he’s straining himself. Very slowly, he leans down and brushes his lips against your forehead. Your breath hitches and your cheeks heat up. You hide your face in his chest.

“You’re ok.” He breathes out, and starts to walk again. You nuzzle his chest, closing your eyes. Once you reach the end of the tunnel, you start to hear footsteps from behind you.

“Bro, there’s someone behind us.” You say nervously, and he swears. He sets you down, grabs your hand, and starts to run. But as soon as the two of you emerge from the tunnel, you reach the edge of a long cliff. As you glance back, a bunch of guards surround you two. Bro pushes you behind him, near the edge of the cliff, and you bite your lip.

He pulls out his katana and starts to fight some of the guards. One of them approaches you, and you pale, backing up. Your foot slips on the edge of the cliff, and you fall.

You don’t even scream because you’ve already hit the river. Thanks to the material of your clothes, you star to sink. At the same time, the river drags you along its path. You choke on the water as you kick hard, trying to stay afloat. You would cry for Bro, but you’re feeling too much like a damsel in distress, so you claw at the water, trying to get to the surface.

Someone grabs you and hoists you onto the bank of the river. You gasp for air and look up, pushing your wet bangs out of your eyes. Bro is standing there, soaking went and looking pissed.

“C’mon, kid, we gotta go.” He says as he helps you to your feet. The two of you start to run.

“Why are they chasing you?” You pant out. You’re a bit on the chubby side, with little rolls of fat and a chubby face, and not very athletic at all.  So running really fast for a long time isn’t exactly your cup of tea.

The two of you reach a series of caves that line the river, and Bro pulls you into one. Both of you hurry and travel inside the dark cavern. After a few minutes, you both stop and sit down.


End file.
